Every time I buy an O'Reilly book I swear it will be the last. Same thing here. All kinds of hype and no delivery. I hate this book. I don't know why it gets so many good reviews. You might be able to use it as a reference book occasionally. Not well written at all.

Long-winded, short on ideas. The thesis of this book can be summed up in one short sentence: Success makes further success easier while failure begets failure. Why this takes 400 pages to say is beyond my understanding. The remaining space is devoted primarily to simplified anecdotes further illustrating this simple point. My Recommendation: Skim the argument over the first 5 pages in a book store. While saving yourself both time and money you will come away with a perfect understanding of everything this book has to say.

As an attorney and a formally-trained computer forensics examiner and instructor who has been tilling the fields of digital evidence for some time, I'm always on the prowl for the next great computer forensics tool or text that's going to help me find the next smoking gun...or at least be confident I haven't overlooked it. I've built a substantial library of books and articles on computer forensics, some very good and some a complete waste of money. But, this book is the best of the best.From its step-by-step detail of the forensic process to its copious and helpful illustrations and screen shots to its unvarnished discussion of the tools in the marketplace, the second edition of Incident Response and Computer Forensics is, for my money, the most valuable resource any computer forensic examiner could have on their shelf. Many of the techniques and shortcuts detailed are "trade secrets" in that I've never seen them described in print. Unlike other forensic guides that assume the reader owns a costly forensic software suite, this book fairly splits its emphasis between Linux tools, shareware and the best software packages. That means the reader can begin the learning process at once, without investing anything more than their time and interest.Another strength is that the book neither presupposes a too-high level of knowledge or experience nor dumbs down its content such that an expert wouldn't derive any value. There's something here for everyone who cares about computer forensics, from the neophyte to the grizzled veteran. When I paid $50.00 for this tome at a big box bookstore, I worried I was paying too much. Now, I'd think it cheap at twice the price.As another reviewer pointed out, it doesn't devote a chapter to the law, but that is not to say that legal considerations are ignored. To the contrary, I think the authors do an excellent job of giving a useful "heads-up" where needed and not moving out of their depth. I don't know these guys, but I'd sure like to shake their hands for a job well done! Thanks.Craig Ball is an attorney and certified computer forensic examiner based in Montgomery, Texas, who teaches and consults with attorneys and the courts on matters of computer forensics and electronic discovery.

Hanson's textbook strikes just the right balance between technology and overall, general knowledge of the Internet. The background chapters in Part 1 on the Digital World, Networks and Internet Business Models are informative but not overwhelmingly technical. The chapters in Part 2 (Online Marketing Themes) are really interesting, in that they point out the many differences between marketing in the real world versus marketing in the virtual world. Topics such as Personalization, Traffic and Brand Building, Online Community, and E-Commerce are really the "meat" of this book and are informative as well as easy to read with plenty of current examples. The challenges of developing and documenting the "principles" behind the amorphous, nebulous, fast-changing Internet are significant, but Dr. Hanson has certainly succeeded in producing a viable, useful resource. I'm sure he's busily working on an update, and I will look forward to reading anything he has to say about marketing in Internet time.